ExoSoul
by Slanther
Summary: In the year 3015, Professor Loverich gathers a group of freedom fighters to remove the tyrant ruling their country, using prototype weapon suits codenamed ExoSoul.


ExoSoul

Chapter 1

In the 22nd century, the world achieves a Global Governing System which brings the world into an era of never before found peace and prosperity, in which issues such as poverty and equal rights are focused on, and third world counties supported. Science across all fronts becomes a primary focus, and a veritable explosion of progress is made.

Unfortunately, base human greed brings it down a mere decade after its inception: The system worked on localised governments to co-ordinate the GGS, and soon, these various institutes usurped the true power, and abolished the GGS in favour of their own ruler ship.

The world splits into as many as a hundred different factions, though many are soon quashed by their covetous neighbours. By the year 3015, only 19 of these dictators remain, locked in a stalemate where the balance of power is so absolute, a single move may ruin any one of them.

That is where this story is based, in the North-American capitol of New Canada (whose border has expanded considerably further south to encompass roughly one third of the entire American land mass).

It is ruled by an aged scientist whose research days were left behind to pursue dreams of power. Very few people love this hunch-backed, paranoid tyrant, Coleman Terrace Bronsworth, or his viciously possessive wife Vivienne, whose likeness in body and countenance are compared to the evil queen in the old story of Snow White.

Some people particularly harbour hatred to these corrupt politicians and their cadre of fawning allies whose sole purpose is to simply agree with any and all proposals shoved in front of them.

One of them is a renowned scientist-turned-politician who goes by the name of Mathusa Hendsor Loverich, one man of only a handful that actively keep some of the worst depravities of Coleman and his cohorts in check.

Professor Loverich's fame comes mostly from an research accident which cost him his fiancee, and nearly his own life, which occurred nearly 50 years prior. Despite this, he still possesses a body equivalent in looks and performance to a 25 year-old (he refuses to comment on what happened to this day, and the government has stifled all attempts to glean more information).

He has earned even more respect from his peers, and the people, in his role as a political champion of the public. Wherever he walks the streets, people greet him warmly, thank him for his work, and he receives so much mail, that he installed an especially large box to receive it all. Yet with all of this he has, still the memories of the tragedy haunt him to the point that even his best efforts seem not nearly enough.

With that thought ever burning in his mind, Prof. Loverich works on a secret project deep underground his own large property. One of his works is a supercomputer contained in a mobile body resembling a pretty young woman, with a prototype learning system installed, which enables human face-to-face interaction, and basic understanding of humanity. Her name is Lucy, which she chose herself, along with a self-developed personality that separates her from any other known computer in the world.

His less public work however, is far more serious.

Nicknamed ExoSoul, it functions as a personal combat armour of unparalleled capacity. He used it covertly against the residing 'governor' of the time, until 3005, when the 'Night Terror' disaster struck Canada City, wiping out the majority of the city, and much of the populace, in the process. Those responsible were never caught.

A local rival (the predecessor to Coleman), saw the opportunity and claimed the territory, rebuilt the city, and renamed it New Canada.

We now go to the year 3015 where the story you shall witness.

A young man, dressed smartly in an expensive designer suit stood in an unfrequented diner down a fairly dingy street, hidden between the large high-rise apartments that were scattered about. He checks his tie, and runs a hand unconsciously through his short, blond hair, which is obviously taken to the hairdressers often, as he nervously looks about the seventeen people before him.

He is not particularly surprised to see only four men among the group, being used to this sort of attention in the public, he had hoped that he might be taken a little more seriously than that: he did not consider himself a target of female attraction. He shakes his head of that thought. No, that is not why they are really here, so I should get to the point, he thinks.

He runs his brown-grey eyes once more over the assembly, grimaced and takes the plunge, "Good morning people, this is a friendly place, so you may relax and take a seat, though that being said, I am having a bit of trouble doing that myself." He smiles at the nervous laughter that follows his remark, relieved that he was not the only one who feels a little lost.

His smile sets back into a serious expression as he moves on to the point at hand, "I am, as you all know, the renowned Professor Mathusa Hendsor Loverich, and I have called you all secretly here through our mutual contacts, whom I won't mention, and you won't mention." he cocks an eyebrow at the listeners "I assume you have some slight idea why you are here?"

A tall, toned blond with hard, serious green eyes that seemed to bore into him stands up, her posture suggesting a military background, "I was told that a certain Professor Loverich was assembling people for a potential conspiracy against the current governing system, and so I have presented here in the hopes of participating in a coup of the power here, that a better person may be placed in charge." The statement is delivered crisply, and almost challengingly.

Loverich looks at the others and asks for their confirmation, which they give.

He turns back to the blonde and stands 'at ease' to see what her reaction will be, "Your informant is correct, Miss Jessica Porter, I believe?" She seems surprised by his knowledge and nods, "Good. Now, I already know who you are, and I am sure you know who I am, so I am going to skip ahead to the next part of the meeting."

He turns to the bar, where a shabby, flabby, grease smeared man waits behind the bar, "This is John, his name is all you need for now, but he is trustworthy, so you need not fear him. He has with him a little device in front of him there," John pats it and attempts a salesmanly smile, revealing a row of broken and chipped teeth: he knew he was no charmer, he didn't even want to be.

Loverich smiles at John before returning to the people, "Don't mind that old ogre, he won't hurt you, but more importantly, that is a mind monitoring device that will ensure that none of you will jeapardise our mission. if you wish to leave now, I will erase this from your mind, and you can forget about the extreme danger you are about to place your life in."

A few of the group look a bit uncomfortable with the BrainGraphMoniter/Manipulation Device,

or just BG2MD for short, but one by one, they approach John and undertake the surprisingly simple, albeit effective, process. Loverich noted that one woman and two men seemed almost furious at their result before John erased the relevant memories and sent them packing with one of his rather evil looking meals in their hands, and an equally evil grin on his face.

The rest look worriedly at him, but Loverich shakes his head sadly, "I am afraid that those were most likely spies sent by the government, hence why I had you go through that process." He smiles warmly at them now, "However, I now know that the rest of you are the genuine article, so I welcome you to our little council of rebels."

Most of them give a bit of nervous applause to his flamboyant remark, but the blonde military woman gives an irritated oath and rises to her feet again, "Excuse me Professor, but I did not come here to waste time on the inconsequential, so get to the point!"

Loverich gives her a level look for a few heartbeats and runs his hand over his well-trimmed 'soul-patch' below his mouth, "I _was_ helping everyone to relax slightly, which _is_ important in this kind of meeting, but very well Miss Porter, you shall get your wish." he finishes with a wave of his hand.

The sound of a starting engine is clearly heard outside, and everyone is surprised to see an old fashion coach-bus waiting outside for them. "You are right though, Miss Porter, we can talk all day if we want, but if we want results, we need action right?" Jessica seems quite startled by the sudden change of pace, but quickly recovers her military stance.

"Thank you Professor, I would reason that the longer we wait, the more likely we will be discovered." She gives a rather nice smile, relieving her rather hard nature momentarily, "You are more prepared than even I had thought, a credit to your reputation."

Loverich inclines his head in acknowledgement before gesturing everyone to the coach. Inside the coach is a spacious interior, designed to accommodate no more than twenty people luxuriously over a distance. He sits in the front seat, which faces backwards to the other positions, and waits for them to settle in.

He fingers the red velvet for a moment and grins brightly, "Quite a nice coach, wouldn't you say?" everywhere they looked, there was something designed for their convenience and comfort, "You will find drinks, nicer food than John's, and personal items like brushes, books, nail polish, and basically more than you could possibly need on a bus, but what else would we use the money for right? Except our jobs of course."

The Coach sounds with laughter as everyone finally begins to relax and enjoy themselves. A single gesture from Loverich closes the door and starts the vehicle moving. One of the people near to him, is Mayoko Kodoka, a shy girl from a traditional Japanese family, despite having lived in the area for hundreds of years.

He knew her fairly well, mostly from description, as her father is one of his key political allies, and a friend besides. He didn't approve of her being here, with the risk and all, but it wasn't up to him to decide, there is a high chance she won't be accepted anyway, so it probably doesn't matter.

She twirls one of her long, black locks and avoids his eyes for a moment, then she looks back at him with her daisy yellow eyes and hesitantly talks, her attempt at a japanese accent was fairly decent, but obviously tutored, "Professor Loverich, Where are we heading exactly?"

Loverich addresses the whole group when he answers, "To my base of operations, of course, where you will be informed of everything." He smiles knowingly, "It will be well worth the trip, I can asure you." he frowns thoughtfully, "May I ask why you are here Mayoko?"

Mayoko 'retreats' further behind her shoulder, "My father wanted to support your actions, whatever they may be," she hesitates and then comes out from her hiding, "He really respects you, you know." She looks a little uncertain about her response when Loverich sighs and lowers his head into his hands.

"I know he does, Mayoko, but he wouldn't throw you into the line of fire to prove it." He raises his head slightly to look her in the eyes, "He has already done more than enough as it is, and he wouldn't want to expose you to the horrors of war and violence. He has more suited people for that."

Mayoko slumps in her seat a little and assumes a forlorn expression, "When father mentioned your call, I thought that it would be a chance to help him, and you, and so I arranged to be quietly brought here," her face quickly becomes defiant, "I know that father doesn't want me involved in this, but I don't want to be sheltered all the time, and I will continue with this, even if you tell him."

Loverich holds up his hands in defeat, and wryly concedes, "I can see that negotiation is not an option. He will kill me if something happens to you, and he will never forgive you if nothing happens to you for disobeying him, but I can't argue with that look on your face." His eyes sweep over the seats, "If that is settled then, why not mingle with everyone else and get to know them."

Loverich studies each of the faces on board closely, looking at the variety of feelings running on the coach, some are hopeful, some determined, and some seem lost. The records of these people told him that while many of these people came from the slums and wrecked parts of town for vengeance and a way out of their desperate existence, a surprising few were part of the upper social echelon, gathering together to bring a brighter future to this greed riddled society: a noble sentiment perhaps, but not the sort that is ever realised. All Loverich aims for is a compromise.

He feels the gentle pressure of the air brakes as they come to a final stop, and he stands up and makes a show of stretching, even though the journey lasted less than half an hour, and flashes a cheeky smirk, "Okay ladies and gentlemen, the transport has stopped now, so I would like you to thank the driver." his smile grows even broader, "May I introduce my Self-Contained-Adaptive-Interfacable-Mobile-Operating-System or SCAIMOS. Perhaps you would know 'it' better as Lucy though."

With a flourish of his hands, a young adult steps out of the driver's compartment. She looks about seventeen or eighteen, with an unlined face and has green eyes, with neck length emerald hair tucked back behind the ears. Her figure is somewhat understated and considerably slim.

Lucy glances sideways at her maker and mutters 'Mine? It?' indignantly, and then curtsies politely to everyone amidst their gasps of astonishment, "Greetings fellow conspiritors, As you have heard, I am SCAIMOS, though I will insist on being called Lucy, as it is more audibly satisfying," she keeps an official expression on her face and straightens her saphire blue businesswoman's dress, "I appreciate your gratitude and recommend alighting from the vehicle, as your trip has ended. I hope you enjoyed your Loverich travel experience."

Loverich and Lucy wait for the people to exit, many of them still smiling over her joke, and walk out into a large estate courtyard, complete with large, well-trimmed trees, perfect grass, and dazzling flowerbeds, it was a true spectacle for people who rarely see a decently maintained park on any given day. The look of stunned amazement on their face spoke more than words ever could.

Loverich allows a few moments for the sights to sink in properly, then walks to the front of the pathway and turns to them, "I give you Greenhaven estate, a _small _monument to what happens when you have too much money to use, though in my defense, I made this money commercially, not through tax money, unlike others," he assumes a more business-like stance, "If you would accompany Lucy and myself, we will be entering Greenhaven manor."

The group slowly files behind their hosts, still looking all around them in an effort to grasp the opulence of their surroundings. It was nothing compared to their next reaction when the manor comes into sight. A large, two-tiered mansion creeps into view over the many gardens encircling the winding lane. It has many similarities to the twentieth century whitehouse from old pictures, except smaller, and with an open observation deck where the trademark dome would have been.

They pass through a pair of large, polished whitewash oaken doors into a spacious foyer, peering at the high ceiling with its candelabra, or admiring the simple-yet-effective adornments on the walls: pictures, murals, and a suit of medieval armour, restored to pristine condition. Even the floor was worth looking at: a marble covered it that was so white it seemed to contain a light of its own, and brown marble wove an intricate pattern within it.

Two doors stand at either side of the room, leading into the 'wings' of the mansion, but Loverich walks up to the armour directly opposite the entrance, and turns the head backwards, and tells it that 'chaos must be made for order to be saved'. Everyone but Loverich and Lucy jump back as the wall retracts to reveal a large platform cage.

Loverich steps inside, followed shortly by Lucy, and he gestures for the guests to follow. Once they step inside, Lucy looks at the controls and simply says 'down' and the lift begins to descend at a stomach-churning pace. Almost as soon as they adjust to the drop, everyone nearly falls down to the floor as gravity suddenly returns to them, and something else draws their attention, culminating in their SECOND greatest shock for the day, as the biggest one has yet to come.

As the gardens and the Manor wowed them with its extravagance, the underground awes them with its intrigue and mystery: Beneath Greenhaven estate is what could only be called a secret base, and they were standing at the entrance to it. Almost as one, the group turns to look at Loverich, who seems satisfied at their appropriately thunderstruck faces.

He wears his best poker face and talks unassumingly, "Why do you seem so surprised? I'm sure that every wealthy person has a secret base beneath their homes, don't you think so?" he can no longer contain his mirth and doubles over in gales of laughter, "Do you know how long I have been waiting for this moment people?! I have been preparing this place for decades, writing secret contracts with discreet builders and suppliers, all for you guys to come here!"

He straightens himself up, though he keeps laughing so much, he has tears in his eyes, "I must say though, that your reaction is worth it, and our cause is worth it a hundred times over." he sniffs once, and becomes serious again, "Hwoo, that was good. This is the centre of my current and future operations, the real reason I built Greenhaven Estate."

"It extends almost as far as the entirety of my land, and consists of power generators, largely nuclear and solar, and Lucy's complete system is kept here, she is actually quite large you know - and buried deep – her body, you see, is only a representation of her. She functions well enough on her own, but her real power is here."

He shifts on his feet nervously before he continues, "However, this installation has one key purpose, and I am going to show just what that is, please follow me." Down the corridor they travel, passing a set of thirty, numbered doors, which he told them were dormitory units, consisting of a bedroom, bathroom, study, and Laundry, all fairly well furbished. The main lounge room and kitchen was a little further down. Next to that was a basic medical facility.

And that was the 'residential sector' passed. Loverich's explanation of the next rooms leaves most heads spinning as they move into the deepest parts of the base. Jessica spots what seem to be compartments for ARDTs and shivers: This part of the base is really getting serious. The heavy, yellow and black striped blast doors in front of them open as they approached revealing a huge area, and some more hidden ARDT compartments on the floor in a semi-circle around the entrance: the right side led to another lift like the first, though open-topped, and the left, apparently, to a recreational facility.

Directly in front of them they head, to a large, refrigerated storage bay recessed into the wall. Loverich and Lucy walk to both sides and input number and voice codes into a pair of consoles, and step into the misty air of the container. Jessica walks rigidly in first, followed reluctantly by everyone else, wearing their light shirts and pants, and Mayoko trails behind.

Loverich looks about ready to start talking but Jessica marches angrily in front of him and confronts him, "What the heck is with this place? Are you starting a freaking war down here or something?" she points back the way they came, "Did you think that I wouldn't see all those ARDTs back there?! Six in the hallway, and EIGHT guarding that entrance! What the heck is going on here?!"

One of the other women, a personal trainer named Sonya Pontiard, frowns and shifts her glasses, "I didn't see any art down here, what are you talking about?"

"ARDT stands for Auto-targetting-Retractable-Defensive-Turret, used for heavy security measures," one of the men, Jonny Brown, speaks from the back amidst expressions of shock and disbelief, "I have only seen one before myself, so I didn't even notice them."

"Well?!" Jessica Demands, "Are you going to explain to me why you have more security down here than the Central Banking Group of New Canada's main depository?"

Loverich has a resigned look on his face as he sighs and points above the storage entrance behind them, "You also missed the two above that door, and the four at the bottom of the lift we came down on," he stares Jessica down cooly and continues, "Before you start the tough girl of justice act and throw around accusations, maybe I should show you the _reason_ I have that much security," he gestures to Lucy, "If you could open the viewing plates for sheds two to eight please?"

Although no-one noticed the slots on the walls before, everyone soon sees the eight recesses that Loverich referred to, seven of which are opening before their eyes. Inside the chambers stands a simple arm and legs frame for what looks like some manner of combat armour. The equipment seems completely worthless except for a large gem-like device that was set about the middle of the back, in which rippled a wavy rainbow pattern.

Jessica folds her arms in front of her and hisses angrily, "Wow, if I had of known _that _was your secret weapon, I would have spared myself the trip." Many of the others are also irritated at what they are seeing, except for Mayoko, who looks puzzled.

She thinks hard for a moment and looks at Loverich, "Professor? Um, this is what you brought us to see right? Therefore, there must be more to this than what is in front of our eyes." Loverich nods approvingly and gestures for her to continue, "Well, uh, I think that perhaps these things have a hidden function of some kind."

Lucy suddenly claps her hands together, her face and eyes bright, "Excellent deducing Mayoko, it just so happens that there most certainly is a special function to these," she makes a show of clearing her throat (not that she has to of course, being a robot) and begins informing them, "Self-dimensional Bio-powered Mind-linking Combat Armour System with 'Zeta brain-wave' Monitoring and Interpretation Device, and no, you do not need to repeat that, the code name ExoSoul will suit just fine."

Loverich picks up from where Lucy finished, "That said, it is powered armour with a difference: the Zeta brain-wave monitoring and interpreting device is part of it," he scratches the side of his head lightly, "Hmm, how to explain it, the Zeta brain-wave is basically the part of the mind that defines who we are, though its existence has never been conclusively proven."

His hand stops scratching his cheek and starts rubbing the back of his neck, "As such, a device capable of reading your Zeta-waves could theoretically map out your entire character," he smiles and keeps going, "It might not be _that_ good, but my equipment works along those lines, which enables the next function."

Lucy smiles too, as they approach the highlight of the lecture, "The ExoSoul actually change form when activated, the nature of which depends on the 'Soul Partner' operating it, and once operated, it only responds its original Soul Partner," She crooks her finger, causing a monitor of some sort to rise from the floor, "The one flaw with the design, mainly because it was made by the professor of course, is that only a certain range of minds can activate the ExoSoul in the first place. Any questions?"

Sonya points to the monitor, "What's that for then honey?" Monica Alba, a brunette librarian sniffs disdainfully, "Well _obviously_ it is there to test which of us is worthy to become a 'Soul Partner', though I don't know how many of _you_ will fall under that category."

"Why don't _you_ try first then, instead of snobbing us off girl?" laughs Holly Montruez, an ultra-fit, carefree sportswoman with close-cut black hair, "Then we will see if you actually _do_ have any bragging rights, and if not, I'll make you run laps around the estate!"

Monica sniffs again and walks directly up to the machine, and stands still while Lucy holds a measuring wand of some kind in front of her eyes. It only takes a few seconds for the test to finish, and Lucy moves her hand away, "The test shows a positive result, so I'll have the next person up please."

Monica pokes her tongue at Holly and leans indolently against a wall while Holly stands in front of Lucy. She also gets the go-ahead and returns the tongue poke, as well as an insufferable 'so there' smile, which broadens when Monica pouts and turns her head away.

Jessica passes the test, along with Mayoko, Sonya, and two others: Brianna Gaffer, an unsuccessful actress with long, unkept faded black hair, possessed of a similar personality, and Amarie Michelles Karri, daughter of business tycoon Chris Karri, and an absolute believer in her own beauty (and expensive white designer dresses).

Loverich looks at the ironic results, somehow unsurprised by the turnout, "Okay then, the next section I am going to talk about involves the Soul Partners specifically, so I will ask you to go with Lucy, who will explain other parts of the area to you, and this lot will catch up later." And so everyone but the seven women turned and followed Lucy.

Loverich spots the look of intense professional interest and then, disappointment, on Jonny Brown's face and beckons him to come, "Mr Brown, I might actually keep you here," he leans in closer, "Since you have been reputed as one of the most promising mechanics around from what I've heard, I think I might want you close, feeling a little outnumbered with all the women left here," then he gives Jonny a sly wink, "besides, you might learn something you need for later reference on the ExoSoul here."

He turns to the candidate Soul Partners, "Now then, Jonny here is an exceptional mechanic (look at him duck his head, what humility), So he is going to be put to best use with the ExoSoul," Loverich coughs into a fist as he proceeds to the next step, "If you accept your mission to use these, you will have to quit your jobs and take chief residency here, though you will still be payed, and better than your jobs I'm sure," he notes that most of them seem a bit concerned over that, but still determined, "And you will also get time off to use that money, and see the ones you care about."

Jessica is naturally the first to step forwards, and salutes, "I'm in," she turns her head to look briefly at the others, "I came here knowing that if I agreed, It could cost me my life," she turns back to Loverich and shrugs, "What is quitting my job and moving my apartment compared to that?"

Holly almost immediately pumps her arm in the air and whoops, "Well said girl! And count me in too!"

"And me, Professor Sir," Mayoko adds quietly, the rest quickly following suit. Except for Amarie Michelles Karri, who folds her arms crossly, "And what about my servants, and my handmaid Debbie, and my dog Becky? What about them?" she swipes one of her hands through the air crossly, "I do want to make a contribution, but do you really think I can give them up, just like that? Besides, my father will want to know what I am doing."

Sonya shrugs, laughing scornfully, "Nobody is forcing you to stay, silly girl, so if you don't like the terms and conditions, don't sign the contract, so to speak."

"If you do leave however, there is no doubt that you shall eternally wonder what destiny you may have found, even if we find naught but death and failure." everyone turns to look at Brianna, who had barely spoken the entire time she had been there, but was now caught up in the drama, "That is oft the way such movements end, though I must strive my utmost, that the promise of hope may be brought to those that suffer in our world."

Amarie's face goes red under the verbal lashing, which she had never endured before in her life, humphs, and then lets her head drop an inch or two, "V...very well. If that's how it's going to be, then I shall show you that I am made of the sterner stuff than any of the rest of you!"

Loverich claps his hands together, causing everyone to jump, "It's settled then, could each of you go to an available chamber and place your right hand on the sensor next to the door please?" they comply, though Amarie has to discreetly swap hands when she realises she was trying with her left hand, "When it has opened, go inside and press the green, and then the red button. Ignore the other buttons if you know what is good for you!"

Jessica enters the No.2 container and presses the green button, noting the dizzying array of buttons, levers, dials, displays, and all manner of gadgets. As she expected, the opaque door closes, followed by the main one, plunging her into a moment of panicked darkness, until the light kicks in. She hits the red button, and immediately, the face of Loverich appears on the screen, though obviously pre-recorded.

"Welcome to the ExoSoul chamber 2. This is an automated walk-through tutorial on activating the MarkII ExoSoul combat equipment. It is suggested that you store your clothes and personal effects in the storage unit at the back of this chamber, as anything you wear will be ruined during the activation process." Jessica's face burns as the Loverich recording keeps talking, but she takes everything off and puts it in the back of the room (she is used this in the military change rooms, so she isn't overly modest about her body).

The voice suggests neutrally, "If you are ready, please press the red button to move on to the entry and activation process," Jessica does this quickly, hugging herself in the slight cold of the metal surrounds, "Good. You will note that there is no fronting to the ExoSoul equipment, so entering simply requires stepping your feet backwards into the legs. Once your feet are in place, set your hands into the arm pieces to continue," Once this was done, Jessica heard, or felt, a click of some sort, and a soft humming started, "You are now in position, and may now wait while the energising and 'Soul' pairing process begins."

The humming begins to rise in intensity, and all manner of lights and gadgets begin to spin and whirl around above her on the ceiling, "Please do not move until the chamber opens and the blue light above the door is on. This concludes the tutorial, due to the unique outcome of your ExoSoul."

Despite the idea that the process must be fairly straight forward and safe, the continual buildup of noise and movement, coupled with the strange creeping feeling seeping into her skin, has chills running all over Jessica. When her vision vanishes, even her military discipline cannot keep her from screaming. It seems to last forever, the sounds and the movements, and her body feeling quite awful. Then it stops, and Jessica's eyes clear."

She sees a metallic sheen covering her entire body, but quickly realises that she's wrong: she isn't metal coloured, or covered in metal, her ExoSoul has active camouflage. The metal colour is from the walls, and the reds and greens and yellows are all from the lights and buttons, shining through her!

"My God!" she gasps as she examines herself, noting that she can kind of see herself even though she is see-through. She's surprised to find that she has long, realistic hair cascading half-way down her back. And then she feels 'Gunmaiden', her ExoSoul, Emerge from the depths of her mind. In mere moments, Jessica learns more about Gunmaiden than she would learn in a day's studying in a manual.

It is basically like her own body, with longer hair, but _much _stronger, and bristles with concealed firearms, which is its main ability. Jessica feels that this is quite suitable, as she does have a certain love of the various handheld weapons: they feel so powerful when she holds and fires them. It also takes a while to realise that her eyes are now displaying a great deal of information on everything in front, _and_ behind her. And somehow in the middle of all this incredulity, Jessica notices the blue light flash on, and the hatch retract open.

As the face of Professor Loverich asks Mayoko to take everything off, she feels like she could explode with embarrassment, despite being alone and listening to a recording. Despite this, she eventually strips down, and follows the next step to enter the clammy, cold frame. When she finds herself locked in place, she feels a shiver of terror.

After the mad lights and spinning gears finish, and her sight returns, Mayoko is surprised to be looking at an entirely different body. It doesn't look or feel like a machine at all, the 'skin' feels smooth and flexible, covered by what seems like a black cloth, which covers everything including her head. A small part is still open around where her eyes should still be, and her long, black hair still flows down from where it is tied up, but as her hands move down the length, they brush the hilt of what can only be a sword.

Upon contact, it seems that someone inside of her very own mind comes to the surface of her thoughts, calling itself Shinobi, and shows her what she has become, the flood of information nearly bringing Mayoko to her knees. A new burst of confidence rushes through her veins as she merges more completely with Shinobi. She looks up as the blue light shines, excitement overpowering her usual shyness.

As Sonya stands, stark naked in a cold metal room, she thinks that this must be the strangest time she has ever taken her clothes off for a man. She almost steps forward into the weird contraption before remembering the instructions. 'No time to be distracted dearie,' she thinks to herself as she corrects her position. She shouts in surprise when the suit locks her in, and the energising process puts her in a state of near hysteria.

When it seems that everything has stopped, Sonya realises that she has her eyes closed, and opens them to see what happened to her. The first impression is the whiskers sprouting off her face as she approaches the polished wall, realising that the buttons are higher than they use to be, much higher.

Her reflection reveals a red furred cat, slightly larger than a regular house one, with tufts of bright, glowing tufts of hair sprouting from behind the ears. Her ears maybe? She experimentally waves her whip-like, elongated tail, the sensation feels peculiar when you've never had one before, and Sonya notices that there seems to be a serrated edge hidden beneath its fluffy coat, making it a dangerous appendage, though it is hard to be sure with the heat haze surrounding her.

Suddenly, there seems to be something moving deep within her skull, trying to make contact with her. The name Blaze comes to mind, and then a flood of information assaults her brain, teaching her how to be who she now is, and melding Sonya and her Soul Partner together, filling her with the sharp wit and nervous energy of the worlds most adept predator and survivor. She nearly jumps out of her fur when the nearby light suddenly turns blue, and recalls how that was meant to happen.

Usually when people, be they men or women, ask her to take her clothes off, a casual kick to the face generally follows, but this time it was a recording, so the satisfaction of retaliation would be denied to her if she did. Since nothing will happen until she does, Holly decides to do as told, and puts her effects into the container, except for a sweat band, which she places on her left wrist as a test to see why she had to go nude.

She whoops and screams and laughs as the glowing lights and spinning thingamajigs make her stomach turn, and then she can't see anything, "What in the world?" she says the words aloud, trying to concentrate through the shifting feeling of her body: like melting down and then changing shape, it is quite unsettling, even for her.

As peculiar as it felt when it was happening, the lack of sensation confuses her, and she realises that she can see again, which immediately tells her how short she is: probably about six to eight inches by her guess, compared to the other objects in the room. She hops to the wall, as it seems quite reflective, and sees why she was hopping. She has talons...

She thinks that she looks kind of like a canary with all of the yellow feathers, which are actually jagged like lightning on closer inspection. The body is not really like a canary's on second thought though, more like a cross between a swallow and an eagle maybe? 'Hmm.... Hang on, what's that?' a strange, or maybe strange because it feels so familiar, presence forms in her head. Flash? 'What a boring name for something so incredible.'

The merging of minds leaves Holly absolutely stunned and she begins to fly, revelling in the utter joy of flying, admiring how well her feathers work, how fast she is, how wonderful she looks. When the blue light turns on, she lands on it, and drains the power from it, to test one of her abilities out, and is very impressed with it, and herself.

"How Disgusting!" is the first reaction Monica has to the instruction given to her, "As if I'm going to strip for you, probably have a hidden camera in here, so I'm _not _going to take anything off, well, except for my jewellery and purse, just in case." her mother's ring, small purse and two earings took up a scant portion of the room that the shelf could hold. That done, she turns to the rather ugly frame of the ExoSoul and sighs, "Let's get this over with."

The moment her hands fit in place, the suit locks her in place, and she shrieks, struggling to free her arms and legs from its grip, and she screams when the ceiling begins to flash and move. Her screams turn to sobs when her eyes give out on her. She keeps wishing to be out of there, or to hurry up and head for the white light she is sure will come, and it suddenly stops.

She tries to open her eyes and moans hysterically when she can't, stopping suddenly when her ExoSoul touches her consciousness, "What are you doing to me, why do I feel cramped, why can't I see?" Monica sobs, writhing in her agonised terror. She feels rather than hears the response 'We are one. We are great. We are powerful. We are Wyrd. Look not with your eyes. We will show us how to see with vibrations. We will show us how to see with sounds.'

As the sensors in her skin 'paint' the world around in her mind, a shriek builds up in her throat. She looks like a great big worm, with a sharp edged end to her tail, and so huge that she barely fits in the chamber, 'We are not a worm. We are Wyrd. We move through sand. We move through rock. We move through steel. We move through anything before us.' Monica settles down as she and Wyrd become unified, and revels in the incredible force she has become. She senses the flicker of the blue light coming on, and prepares to squeeze out of the widening entrance.

Brianna often listens to director's orders all day long, so it only takes a moment to follow her instructions and strip down, placing her things in the appropriate spot. Her figure struck her as rather pathetic in her eyes, as it always did, unbefitting of an aspiring actress. She shrugs her thoughts away and steps into the foot-holders of this metal skeleton, wincing at the cold touch of the frame. She finds it uncomfortable to reach the arm pieces, as she is particularly short. It is certainly a stretch, and becomes even more difficult when the cold machine locks her in place.

The sounds and movements around her seem reminiscent of a performance she had watched long ago, but the sudden blackness was new... 'Perhaps I will awaken in a far away world of witches and knights,' Brianna wonders idly, otherwise unperturbed by the sensations spreading throughout her body, and then it's over.

The first thing she notices is the fact that she is not touching the ground. In fact, she is about five feet above it, and missing her legs, 'Am I a ghost at last then?' her reflection says otherwise though. She's seems to have turned into a big, purple lidded eye, which widened in response to her surprise.

'I seem to have turned into a monster,' Brianna muses to herself, and frowns her eye when she hears an answer, 'You are not a monster, you are I, and I am Omni.' 'What are you?' Brianna asks the depths of her soul, 'Join with me and then you will know.'

The merging of herself and Omni is so intense that she closes her eye, and she learns of so many things she could now do: she can reveal things that others would miss, hide things that people would find, even send or intercept signals from almost any known source. She opens her eye and then opens the other four, smaller eyes that materialised around the room during the merge. If seeing through one eye is strange, it is nothing compared to seeing through five, and when they're in different places at the same time.

She had never heard anything so insulting before in her life! Take off her clothes?! Who did that that Super-size-ego, flat-headed, mannerless ape of a scientist think she was!? Amarie glared at the video recording for a good minute or two, daring it to say that to her again.

Still, just glaring and waiting isn't doing any good, so she has to do something. Giving up and admitting defeat is _not_ an option, but taking off her clothes here seems too wrong to do, and yet if she didn't, her favourite, flared dress would be doomed, maybe, that professor _could _have been lying, but should she risk it?

In the end, she reluctantly takes everything off, folding and storing everything neatly away, frowning at the creases her clothes would surely get. "All right, what next Professor? Enjoying the view?! Hurry up and answer me!!" The message eventually asks her to 'press the red button to continue,' and Amarie sighs in disgust and slams her palm on the panel.

After she receives her next instructions, she reluctantly slips into the metal frame, cringing away from the touch of the cold steel, and screams an unpleasant word or two when the latches click into place. The next minute passes like a garish nightmare, with colours and spinning things and then an awful darkness clouding her eyes. She slowly peers around her, afraid at what she might see. She feels so wrong somehow.

Amarie lets loose a monstrous scream as her eyes lock on the reflection in the wall. Her body is covered with a blue-grey exoskeleton standing ten feet tall on six large, powerful legs, and has about eight 'arms' on her, each ending in a wicked blade. She spots her three serrated tails waving hypnotically across the other side of the chamber and fights back a wave of hysteria and revulsion. She screams again when the creature meets her mind.

It called itself Ruina, and its mind was not any gentler than its appearance. Their synchronisation isn't so much joining together, as Ruinia trying to force its way into her head, as Amarie tries with all her might to get away from the monster, but in the end, there is nowhere to run, even in her mind, and they merge, both personalities meeting somewhere in the middle: Rough and vicious, but also proud, and still self-conscious about her appearance.

With the blue light flashing, and the door opening, Ruinia moves out of the chamber.

In chapter two, the Soul Partners see each other for the first time, and Professor Loverich tells all he knows about the ExoSoul, and so they begin training to prepare themselves for the trials ahead. Hope you enjoyed chapter one of ExoSoul, please keep posted for chapter two. Until next time!


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